When former vice chancellor Paul Barrows returned to campus Monday morning, the entire community let out a slow breath, hoping against hope that the scandal was now firmly in the past and that UW could begin the slow process of healing.

Yet Mr. Barrows' "I fought the law" attitude and triumphant stride into Bascom Hall, along with his civil lawsuit against Chancellor John Wiley and former Dean of Students Luo Luo Hong, shows that the embattled administrator has no intention of admitting wrongdoing.

For his own part, the chancellor's short public statement after the release of the report claimed simply that he "exercised poor judgment" and largely skirted the issue of his own culpability and the larger administrative problems that have been documented.

With no public plan to address the failures of the university's current policies on sexual harassment and misconduct, how will Bascom be able to convince the UW community that a similar scandal will not erupt further down the road? Indeed, it is incredibly disconcerting that Mr. Wiley has continued to call this "an isolated incident," when the Steingass report outlines the inadequacies of current university policies.

Both Mr. Wiley and Mr. Barrows continue to live in a state of denial when it comes to the effect that their actions have had on this university. Neither has issued a full and much-needed apology. In fact, it seems Mr. Barrows in particular believes he has done nothing wrong. While we understand the need to remain discreet in the face of a civil lawsuit, the lawsuit concerns the appropriateness of Ms. Hong's letter to Wiley and not whether or not Mr. Barrows' repeated sexual advances toward students was improper.

So it's back to business as usual on Bascom Hill, with the chancellor chasing the spectre of binge drinking while the rest of campus continues to bleed.

It is time for the curtain to fall on this tired tragedy, yet until both Mr. Barrows and Mr. Wiley, genuinely contrite, come forward with public apologies and take full responsibility for their actions, the administration will be unable to begin rebuilding the broken trust that has been left in the wake of this scandal.